theory Y management....maybe the stepford wives had it wrong

My new job involves working in a long-term medical community of ill and elderly people.  I love it.

I first applied for this job the week I got layed off in November.  I interviewed for it the following week.  They contacted me to start the first week of January.

50 beds worth of work had been without a social worker for over a month. 

On my first day, I met my co-social workers Angie and Linda.  Angie laughs at anything.  Linda likes to tell jokes.  Awesome first impression.  "We are SO happy to have you here" they told me over and over again.

On my second day I met the rest of the group.  The recreation department, 3 unit managers, the director of nursing, the administrator, the billing department, the maintenance managers, 3 care-planning managers, the medical office manager, and dietary department.  We all crowd into a room half the size of my bedroom every morning at 9:30 am and review the day's happenings.  They say you have to laugh to keep from crying, and that is as true in medical communities as anywhere else.  My team and I laugh a lot.  "You fit in really well with us, everyone is enjoying you."

Every time I show them that I already know how to do something, or I take care of something that they had gotten used to being behind on in the 30 days they went without a social worker for my hall, they say again "We are so happy to have you here!  Isn't she great?"

I'll be the first person to let you know how great I am, but really, I don't usually elicit a response like this.

I keep wondering if there was a meeting before my first day where they were all told to tell me the same thing.

Acting on the chance that there wasn't such a meeting I keep trying to locate the leader of the kindness committee and see how they positively motivate and reinforce performance so seamlessly.

The whole situation would seem really Stepford if I didn't absolutely love my job as a part of it.  There's usually a hostile take over before a person suddenly feels perfectly content with their situation.  To be honest, if there's a dark secret here, I don't really want to know what it is.

What is your beautiful?

One measure of a person: What is it that you think about when you don't have to think?

If Satan cannot make us sin, he makes us busy.

Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people.

These types of quotes are what run through my head when I try to post these days.  I have tried very often.  In the past I have had time to muse and blunder on about happenings that arouse my emotions.  Since settling in this job, I've had no such time.  In the mean time, I've settled for writing about recreational events with my husband and family.

I work for beautiful people.  People made beautiful by smiling through hardship.  When I sit with them, I experience cutting through what is unnecessary about life and feeling what makes us human.

I can't tell you details of the exchanges I have with these people.  It's not my business to share their personal experiences.  But I get to see it.

Communities of the ill and aging are some of the most beautiful places I can imagine.

Baptism Weekend

I live about 30 minutes north of my second oldest brother, Nathan.  This led to 2 awesomenesses this weekend:
1.  Nathan's boy Jonah turned 8 this weekend and made the monumental choice to be baptized! 
2.  My mother came in town from LA to be a part of the event and I got to have her over at my house for a whole weekend! 

As to awesomeness #1: Saturday morning we traveled down to Pleasant Grove and witnessed the main festivities.  It was a very simple service.  After song and prayer, one young man spoke on the importance of baptism, teaching so an 8 year old would understand, we all got to write little letters to Jonah for him to keep on his special day, another fellow spoke on the importance of the Holy Ghost, and more music and singing interspersed throughout.  The best (and most important) parts were my brother getting to baptize his son and then lay his hands on Jonah's head and help him to receive the Holy Ghost.  I tell you it was something special.

Awesomeness #2: You don't think of how great it is to have your mom come visit for a casual weekend when you live at such a distance from  your home town. 

Friday night I got to work with my mom to bake the Baptism cake. (I didn't get a picture of it, but My mom cuts a 9x14 cake into an open book shape, then frosts it like an open book and writes scripture on the top side.  It's pretty dang cute if you ask me!)

Saturday after the service we all went to the Lehi Legacy Center with a pretty sweet indoor pool with a 3rd story slide, a lazy river, a hot tub, and a huge bucket that fills with water and dumps on whoever happens to be under it at random intervals.  Pretty sweet if you ask me!  Dale and I had fun waiting anxiously under the bucket drop, and I got to take my 4-year-old niece down the 3rd story slide for her first time!  She was so brave, and to be honest, she helped me cope with my claustraphobia of going into over 100 feet of dark, enclosed space.

The rest of the time was just the usual family cooking and eating meals, trading foot and leg rubs, chatting, and playing games, but we got to do it all together.

Thanks for coming into town, Mom.  And thanks for scheduling a fun weekend for us all Nathan.  Dale and I really had a great time.

Pumped

Today I needed a pump up.

I reached back into my early college experience for silly things that gave me a buzz and came up with this little guy:

Oh Homestar!  11 years after your most recent update, you still rock my world!

http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail194.html

Dream come true

I'm sure I've dreamed of having a night like this one since my freshman year of college.  I went into BYU excited for sketch comedy like "Divine Comedy" and "Vocal Point."  I had 3 brothers attend BYU before me, and one had made this specific aspect of the experience especially exciting.  This was about the same time that everyone in college housing was answering their phone with "Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?" and political discussions almost always involved throwing in the concept of whether or not you would "Vote for Pedro."  Around 19 and 20, a good laugh was the main theme of conversation.

As I acclaimated to the campus, I felt a buzz on that comedy frequency of this one performer's CD. 

Thus began my experience with Brian Reagan.  Wikipedia compares him to a younger generation's Steve Martin, and I can see it--very physical humor, about every day life, and completely, entirely clean.  Even his performances on Comedy Central.  So, not only was he almost worshipped by a BYU student base who strove for integrity in a world of rapidly degrading class, but he could almost make you pee your pants.  The first CD I heard from him revolved around him trying to go through life without looking stupid.  My friends were regularly quoting his lines when awkward things happened, making the moment exciting rather than embarassing.  "You too!"  "He's callin' the hump Walt, he's not supposed to want the hump."  "I call this chair!" ...  oh!  Those were the days!

When you consider the hours of joy this comedian's recorded performances brought us, you can imagine my excitement when 3 years after leaving this hoard of friendships and silly quotes my husband calls up and tells me that he got us tickets to see a LIVE PERFORMANCE!!!!!  I seriously started dancing and jumping up and down when he told me.

Here is the concert hall where he performed.

Here is how close we were to the stage.

Here is the scale I saw him in with the naked eye.

I laughed til I cried.  I laughed til I lost my voice from laughing.  I laughed til my face felt like rubber from smiling the whole time.

Dream. Come. True.

What the new year brings

I've tried to post every day for a week now about the awesomeness that 2012 has brought us.

I tried to post about Dale's NEW JOB change and move up to LANDesk as an HR Specialist. 

Doesn't this look like a great office
for my honey?

I tried to post about my TWO JOB OFFERS and the drama that ensued upon trying to figure out which one to take.

I tried to post about my subsequent JOB ACCEPTANCE at Avalon Valley Rehabilitation Center as a Medical Social Worker.

I tried to post about what it's been like to work for my first full week in 2 months at a great facility that is almost the mirror image of the last job, but 15 miles closer to home, and how it brings up all of the hurt of being suddenly let go from the job previous.

But I can't seem to capture the complex excitement we have felt in all its glory in a way that anyone else would be interested in reading it! 

So here it is blogosphere!  Just know that we feel extremely blessed, that God has watched out for us the whole time, and that we are humbled and grateful.

Some hints about things that also happened in the first 2 weeks of 2012 that I WILL be posting about as future events transpire:

Comedy (January)

Dale--games (February)

Endluge... (March)

HUGE TRIP!!! (May)

Most of that is thanks to having a husband who is passionate about life.  Ending 2011 with only the most bare bones plans for the upcoming year, this is fleshing out quite nicely!  Are you excited for me?

Christmas in the Mountains

This year was the first time in our 3-year marriage that we have been to Dale's house for Christmas.  I think it's fun how you can spend ALL of your time with someone and still have major things to learn about them as the years pass. 

What I learned about Dale this Christmas:

1. He feels very strongly about his childhood Christmas stocking.

2. Even if I say "maybe 11 lego games is enough"  he will still by 18 of them.

3.  He looks extremely cute in "the Grinch" themed Christmas pajamas

4.  We re-learned how to use a hot glue gun together.

5.  If given a choice between me and his brother on a holiday trip, Dale will choose his brother 75% of the time :). 

6.  Dale listens pointedly for things that I mention that I would like and suprizes me with them as gifts when I've forgotten about how I mentioned I'd like them.

7.  He builds boxes of legos to the instructions.  I had never done that before.

My favorite parts of the holliday week:

1. A hike in Glacier International Park

2. Cooking a traditional Christmas meal where everyone helps out.

3. Wearing cute new PJs with Dale every night.

4. Puzzles.  We assembled almost 3 1000 piece puzzles in the 10 days I was there.  I feel like an 80 year old admitting it to myself, but I'm really good at it.  And doing things I have a natural aptitude for boosts my confidence.

5. The game of Things.  We played it on two evenings as a big group, and it was a lot of fun.

Good times.  Thanks to everyone who was involved!  It really made the holliday special.

Here is a picture.